MARIA Sharapova's short stay atop the women's rankings will end
after the French Open.

Sharapova moved up from No.2 when Justine Henin suddenly retired
last month.

But after losing in the fourth round at Roland Garros, Sharapova
will drop back down and there will be a new No.1 - current No.2 Ana
Ivanovic of Serbia, No.3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia or No.4 Svetlana
Kuznetsova of Russia.

None of those three ever has won the French Open or been ranked
No.1.

The simplest scenario: If one wins the championship on Saturday,
she will take over the top spot when the new rankings are released
on Monday.

Otherwise, either Ivanovic or Jankovic would become No.1 by
losing to anyone other than Kuznetsova in the final.

Ivanovic plays Jankovic in the semifinals on Thursday, while
Kuznetsova faces 49th-ranked Kaia Kanepi in the quarterfinals on
Wednesday.

"At the end of the day, rankings take care of themselves,"
Ivanovic said. "If you play well, if you're winning, the rankings
come."

Jankovic, in contrast, made quite clear that sitting atop the
rankings would mean a lot to her.

"My dream is to become No. 1 in the world, and now I'm very
close," she said. "So I will try my best, and hopefully I can do
it."